Process

Your professional learning plan is intended to support your district in reaching its goals, so it’s important to use your SEL action plan as a starting point.

Based on the goals and actions set forth in your SEL action plan, consider what stakeholders will need to know, do, and believe to carry out their roles. District leaders, classroom teachers, school principals, and others will have different roles in SEL implementation and, therefore, different learning needs. For each stakeholder group, outline what learning needs you’ll want to address to reach the expected outcomes of your SEL action plan.

Your school district is likely already providing many professional learning opportunities, and it’s a good idea to assess existing resources before launching new professional learning.

You may wish to:

• Review any districtwide or departmental professional learning calendars to get a sense of the types and frequency of professional learning that the district already offers.
• Review what professional learning on related topics is already offered by different departments. Related topics may include school climate, whole child instruction, collaborative instructional strategies, behavior management and interventions, restorative discipline strategies, mindfulness, bullying or violence prevention, culturally responsive teaching, mental health, trauma-informed practices, and so forth.
• Collect any related agendas, facilitator guides, presentations, and other materials that have already been developed from other departments.
• Gather information from school sites on any SEL professional learning they are engaged in.
• Gather information on any SEL-related community partners or vendors facilitating professional learning for the district or individual schools.
• Review CASEL’s one-hour Introduction to SEL online learning experience for all audiences, and also  CASEL’s workshops and on-demand courses that support school-based teams to prepare a plan for schoolwide SEL implementation.

CASEL’s Districtwide SEL Program and Initiative Inventory includes an interview protocol that can help you learn about the SEL-related work happening across your district.

Here’s an example of a comprehensive audit of SEL-related professional learning in the Sacramento City Unified School District.  The district used a grant funded by NoVo Foundation to engage an external consultant to assist with this effort.

This example from Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools shows their professional development offerings and the strengths and challenges of each.

Based on the learning needs you identified and your district’s existing resources, determine what additional professional learning you’ll need to offer to support your SEL implementation goals.

For each stakeholder group you identified, determine the appropriate sequence, frequency, and mode of professional learning that would best meet their needs. How you structure professional learning may vary based on the audience. For example, teachers and classroom support staff may need opportunities for deeper collaborative learning, practicing, and coaching since they are implementing strategies in the classroom. Central office staff may need a more basic introduction to SEL principles and how these principles connect to their work.

Consider the following questions:

• Will participants be brought together as a large group, or will you create cohorts based on regions, elementary/middle/secondary, subject areas, etc.?
• Are the professional learning offerings part of a series that builds on previous sessions? Are there prerequisites for certain professional learning offerings?
• Will attendance at professional learning be voluntary or mandatory for different stakeholder groups? If voluntary, how will stakeholders be invited and encouraged to attend? If mandatory, how will required participation be communicated?
• Will there be opportunities for participants to connect in smaller groups between professional learning engagements?

Also ensure that your plan provides regular opportunities for school leaders and their teams to come together to collaboratively discuss implementation challenges, share promising practices, and learn from each other.

This menu of professional learning from a school division in southeastern Virginia shows a progression from offerings that strengthen awareness of SEL to deeper application and collaborative communities of practice.  For examples of how three school districts approached professional learning in the early stages of districtwide SEL implementation, see this brief spotlighting SEL leaders in Olympia, Buffalo, and Des Moines.

In addition, it can be helpful to consider online courses in SEL that may support your professional learning plan. Here are some options to review and consider:

• CASEL offers a virtual workshop series and on-demand course on how to plan, sustain, and continuously improve systemic SEL implementation in a school community, using the CASEL Guide to Schoolwide SEL as a key resource.
• The SEL Online Education Module, offered by the Washington State Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI), is a free, self-directed course created in response to state legislation that supports SEL. It takes approximately 10 hours and includes an introduction to SEL, as well as segments on embedding SEL schoolwide, creating a professional culture based on SEL, integrating SEL into the classroom, and identifying and selecting evidence-based programs.
• The Michigan Department of Education in partnership with Michigan Virtual offers 5 self-paced courses (available at no cost to all but credit awarded only to MDE certificate holders) including an introduction to SEL, culturally responsive classrooms, embedding SEL schoolwide, creating professional culture based on SEL, and trauma-informed support.
• The Tennessee Department of Education shares SEL modules that include powerpoint presentations, facilitator guides, and handouts on 7 kinds of instructional practices that promote social and emotional learning.

Once you’ve outlined the structure of professional learning for each stakeholder group, you can identify specific dates based on district and school calendars. It’s helpful to share these dates early to ensure participants plan time to attend.

As you’re developing your plan, consider how you will ensure that your professional learning program has met the needs you identified. You’ll want to determine up front what types of data you’ll need to collect, a process for collecting this data, and a timeline for reviewing and reflecting on the data to make needed adjustments.

One way to collect data is to ensure all professional learning includes time and a structure for gathering feedback. You may want to create a standard form or survey for participant evaluations of professional learning.

In addition to planning how to collect the data, it’s helpful to plan a structured process for making improvements based on the data.

A robust professional learning plan will likely involve multiple staff, and you’ll want to identify clear roles and responsibilities for carrying out professional learning. For each professional learning session, consider who will:

• Plan and review the agenda and content.
• Register and communicate with participants before and after professional learning.
• Secure and set up the dates, locations, and other logistics.
• Gather and bring supplies, handouts, workbooks, or other materials.
• Coordinate with any external providers you may be working with.
• Serve as the facilitators during the session.

The facilitators of professional learning will often serve as the “face” of SEL to district stakeholders, and it’s highly recommended that you consider identifying facilitators who represent your district’s diversity, including racial, ethnic, cultural, gender, and linguistic backgrounds.

Successful professional learning requires thoughtful preparation. Here are some steps to take:

• Determine the depth and level of learning you wish to provide. Consider the following questions:
  • Who are you targeting with this professional learning?
  • What do you want participants to know or be able to do by the end of the learning session?
• Outline the kinds of learning tools you plan to use and how you might incorporate them to create your learning session. What might be helpful to your target audience? Activities? Videos? Presentations? Discussions? Guest speakers? You can find articles and videos differentiated by elementary, middle, and high school level here.
• When developing SEL professional learning sessions, consider modeling SEL strategies as you share information.  We recommend you include the three signature practices of SEL:
  • Welcoming routines
  • Engaging practices, including brain breaks
  • Optimistic closure
• These resources about facilitation may be helpful:
  • 12 Thoughts on SEL Facilitation
  • The agenda and presentation for a workshop on facilitation presented to Washoe County School District
• Bear in mind the power of seeing SEL in action. Videos, presentations, and statistics can all help you demonstrate the impact of SEL. Here are some resources you may wish to include:
  • CASEL’s sample SEL 101 presentation and introductory video (runtime 4:50)
  • Austin Independent School District’s video Social & Emotional Learning Creates a Foundation for Success (runtime 3:37)
  • Sacramento City Unified School District’s video Social Emotional Learning (runtime 5:06)
  • Social Emotional Learning in Atlanta Public Schools (runtime 5:14)
  • The CASEL Guide to Schoolwide SEL contains a comprehensive video library, organized by topic

Provide opportunities to reflect on and discuss how the information provided in the learning can be transformed into action in the district, schools, and classrooms.

• You may also want to provide articles for participants to read either before or after the session.  Articles and book chapters from across the District Resource Center and Guide to Schoolwide SEL have been compiled and summarized here.
• Provide time to debrief the learning. This gives participants a chance to reflect , and it provides you the opportunity to gauge what worked well and what you might want to change going forward. Resources that can help include:
  • SEL PD facilitator’s debriefing cycle
  • Professional Development Feedback Form
  • Sacramento City Unified School District’s Exit Reflection Feedback Form

SEL professional learning is most effective when it’s connected to all other professional learning offered by the district. While your district’s other professional learning offerings may not have an explicit SEL objective, every session provides an opportunity to reinforce and build upon SEL practices or connect to SEL content. For example, professional learning on any topic can be structured around the three signature practices of SEL. These types of SEL practices can help participants feel a sense of community and engage more deeply in any professional learning.

As you’re building out your professional learning plan for SEL, work closely with key departments in academics, equity, student services, etc., to identify meaningful ways to embed SEL throughout professional learning.